Alternative Star Wars Saga

"It's never too late - in fiction or in life - to revise."

- Tagline

The Alternative Star Wars Saga, or simply Alternative Saga, is a continuity of fanon created by Brandon Rhea, Victor "Squishy Vic" Dorantes and Wayne "CurrentBigThing" Lipman III. Others who have contributed enough to warrant recognition are Edward Oliver and Solus. The continuity is split into two major series, known as Brandon Rhea's Alternative Star Wars Saga and the Squishy Vic Series. Originally, the Alternative Saga belonged only to Brandon Rhea, until he began discussing, with Dorantes, a possible conjoining of their two continuities. After several discussions, they compromised and the two series became part of the same continuity, on March 27, 2008. A few days later, on March 30, Lipman also joined the continuity, since he had previously established continuity with Dorantes. After being an unofficial part of the Alternative Saga, Solus became a major contributor on July 5, 2008.

The Alternative Saga spans across a large timeline, starting from 100,000 BBY until at least 103 ABY. Central characters in the continuity include the members of the Antrell, Bac, and the Lanmaw families, which each series revolves around. Some major events include the Kal'Shabbol Civil War, the Great Territorial War, the Great Rim Lines War, the starwars:Rakatan Civil War, the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War.

Novels in the Alternative Saga include Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac, written by Rhea, and Star Wars: Knighthood, written by Dorantes. The re-imaging of the Star Wars films are being written by Rhea and edited by Dorantes; the first chapter in the series is titled The Chosen One. Other novels include the Chronicles of the Great War series, Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac II, Star Wars: Episode II, and Star Wars Tales: Narod Antrell.

The Alternative Saga has produced the most number of Featured Articles and Good Articles on Star Wars Fanon. Brandon Rhea produced seventeen unique Featured Articles and twenty Good Articles. Victor Dorantes has produced ten Featured Articles and ten Good Articles. Lipman has produced one Good Article.

In total, the three have produced twenty-two Featured Articles and thirty-three Good Articles, out of the forty-eight Featured Articles and eighty Good Articles on the site. However, at the present time, Rhea has one Formerly Featured Article, Dorantes has two and Lipman has three, all six of which have yet to be reinstated.

Novels
There are currently three ongoing novels in the Alternative Saga, those novels being Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One by Brandon Rhea, Star Wars: Knighthood by Victor Dorantes and Star Wars: The Alderaan Affair by Wayne Lipman III.

The Chosen One
Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One, also called The Chosen One and abbreviated as TCO, is an Altenative Saga novel written by author Brandon Rhea that re-imagines the films Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Currently incomplete, the novel has been in the production process since November 2007, and is currently being released chapter-by-chapter as each one is finished on Star Wars Fanon, TheStarWarsRP.Com and TheForce.Net. Since November 2007, a prologue and eighteen chapters have been released, with an estimated fifteen more still to be written.

The novel is set during the Invasion of Utapau, based on the canonical Invasion of Naboo, and deals with the discovery of Annikin Skywalker and the beginning of his time in the Jedi Order. Although Annikin does not believe he will fulfill the Prophecy of the Chosen One as he is told he will, he is surrounded by those that do believe in the prophecy, as well as those who do not. The novel also focuses on a mystery surrounding the Mandalorian Clans, the possible return of the Sith Lords and the beginning of the Clone Wars.

After the completion of the novel, a sequel series titled Star Wars: Trials of War is set to be penned by Edward Oliver, though that will be preceeded by a brief novella titled Star Wars: Genesis. This series will document the Clone Wars and will continue the development of characters such as Annikin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Naberrie. That series will then be followed by Star Wars: Episode II, also written by Rhea. The Chosen One was also nearly adapted into an animated film, though that was canceled during pre-production.

Knighthood
Star Wars: Knighthood, known simply as Knighthood, is a novel written by Victor Dorantes. The novel has been in-production since Autumn 2007, and it was first released onto the internet on December 1, 2007, where it was publicly posted on the Jedi Council Forums of the website TheForce.Net and at the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. The novel has been discontinued from the Jedi Council Forums, although it continues to be published on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. However, the process has been slow, and in actuality, only chapters one and two have been released, which were originally one longer chapter. Chapter three is in production, following the completion of rewrites on the two earlier chapters.

The novel is set in the canonical Rise of the Empire era timeline, although, since it is non-canon in Star Wars canon, the novel is part of the larger Alternative Star Wars Saga. The novel focuses on the tale of Narod Antrell, the flagship character of Dorantes, and his rise into the ranks of the Jedi Order, including ascending to Jedi Knighthood, hence the title of the novel. The novel runs concurrently, at times, with the major events of Revenge of the Sith and the timeline is set between 20 BBY and plans to run until 0 BBY/ABY, with flashbacks as far back as 33 BBY set to appear. Mainly, the novel will remain focused on the Antrell family.

Following the creation of Star Wars: Knighthoood, Dorantes has created two spinoffs telling different tales, still considered canon in his series, that he does not plan on having in the novel. They are Star Wars Tales: Narod Antrell, inspired by the official comic book series Star Wars Tales, and Knighthood: The Web Series, a mini-web series of the same name, which includes Dorantes actually portraying Narod Antrell in live action sequences. The progress of these two spinoffs has also been slow and all three media are in-production as of October 2008.

The Alderaan Affair
Star Wars: The Alderaan Affair is a novel written by Wayne Lipman III. Part of the Alternative Star Wars Saga, it re-imagines the backstory of Leia Organa and tells how she meets a boy named Epin Lanmaw, and becomes close friends with him during the course of their young lives. Lipman spends a good deal of the story detailing their growing relationship, and the repercussions it has. It also details Epin's relationship with his abusive father, Sadvo, his involvement in the Black Manka fight club, and the effects that each has upon him.

Epin learns of his Force sensitivity from Darth Traya, who is in some way connected to his family. She touches on his family's bloody history, his long deceased ancestors, and the incredible power they held. Through her guidance, he becomes overly intoxicated with his "gift".

Chronicles of the Great War
Star Wars: Chronicles of the Great War is a series of short stories and short novellas written by author Brandon Rhea that chronicle the events leading up to and during Rhea’s vision of the Great Territorial War, ending just before the beginning of the novel Shadows of the Jedi: The Legend of Ussej Padric Bac. The series is based upon the story of the “Great War” that was role-played on TheStarWarsRP.Com throughout 2005, and although it is not a direct chronicling of the events it is heavily based upon them. Current plans do call for many members of TheStarWarsRP.Com helping in the creation of each individual story, particularly if their old role-play character is involved in one of the events.

Beginning just after the events of starwars:Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords, Chronicles of the Great War begins by showing the rise of the Third Sith Empire and the reorganization of the Jedi Order after the disastrous starwars:Mandalorian War and starwars:Jedi Civil War. As the series progresses and the Great Territorial War begins, the stories will focus on the forces of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order fighting against the Third Sith Empire. Other factions involved will be the Mandalorian Clans and the House of EbonClaw of the Chiss Ascendancy.

While the series will focus on numerous characters and their personal growth throughout the war, the series puts a major focus on Ussej Padric Bac, Kit Corwin Rendar, Damien Nightblade, Remer Ather and Dexon Kyjar, as they are all vitally important to the impending destiny of many of the main characters of the series. A great focus is also put on Josham Kavar, Adena Qel-Droma and Stavan Jetzt throughout the series. Many users from TheStarWarsRP.Com will be able to contribute when it comes to the development of their character.

One of the major aspects of the series will be the mythology of an ancient group of relics that supposedly pointed the way to a trove of knowledge "that could put the Jedi Archives to shame". The quest for these relics will be one of the recurring stories throughout the series, beginning even in the first short novella, Aftermath. Some of the storyline of the quest is inspired by the fourth season of Smallville, mainly with the basic idea of a group of relics coming together to point the way to a large store of knowledge, though the vast majority of it is original content. While it is known that the relics in Smallville ended up forming the Fortress of Solitude, it has yet to be revealed what the relics in Chronicles of the Great War are capable of doing.

Nativity
Nativity: The Birth of Annikin Skywalker is a novel set to be written by a currently unspecified author based on a story by Brandon Rhea. The novel is set eighteen years before Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One and features the events before, during and immediately after the birth of Annikin Skywalker. Despite this, Annikin Skywalker appears only as an infant, making his appearances in the novel short. Most of the story deals with Shmi Skywalker dealing with her virgin conception, and Sarus and the Ophuchi Clan seeking her out regarding the Prophecy of the Chosen One. Also featured is the mysterious Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious who sends his apprentice to Tatooine in an attempt to murder Shmi before she can give birth to her son, whom the Dark Lord knows to be the Chosen One spoken of in prophecy.

Trials of War
Star Wars: Trials of War is a series of short stories and novellas being developed by Edward Oliver and Brandon Rhea. Oliver will write the majority of the series, though Rhea will write some of the novels. The series is set to take place during the three years between Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One and Star Wars: Episode II. It may continue to document the events between Episode II and Star Wars: Episode III, though there are two other possibilities in that there will be a new series or those events will not be chronicled at all.

For the series, many of the characters from The Chosen One are set to return and it will explore many of the elements of the relationship between Annikin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Naberrie, as well as Crispin Hadaack and others, that are not shown in The Chosen One or Star Wars: Episode II. The first of the novellas and short stories are set to be released immediately upon the conclusion of The Chosen One.

Episode II
Star Wars: Episode II is an upcoming novel written by author Brandon Rhea. The novel will be the second episode of the Alternative Star Wars Saga and it is set to deal with the continuing adventures of Annikin Skywalker, Padmé Naberrie and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as other characters such as Yoda, Mace Windy and Malus Palpatine. Very little else is known about the story of the novel, though it will continue and end some major plots from Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One.

The Chosen One: The Animated Movie
The Chosen One: The Animated Movie was a planned but later canceled animated version of Brandon Rhea's Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One. Using the novel as a script, the film would have been animated by Michael Jones, owner and creator of Sequel-Trilogy.Net, with dialogue being filled in by a cast that was never selected. Although very little of the movie was completed, Jones was able to create character stills and a brief animated scene of Annikin Skywalker walking through the desert on Tatooine.

Knighthood: The Web Series
Knighthood: The Web Series is the title of the web series created by Victor Dorantes, loosely based off his novel of the same name, that began production in August 2008. Knighthood episodes have been uploaded and aired on YouTube, and at least ten episodes are planned, composed of five story arcs, each having two 2 to 5-minute episodes. Dorantes will be writing, directing, and producing the web series, as well as reprising his role as Narod Antrell, a role he'd used only in cosplaying on Halloween 2006 and 2007. Also reprising their roles will be Dorantes's fiancée Jasmine Ramirez and son Victor Dorantes II as Zeri Undis and Roviik Antrell, respectively. For filming, Dorantes is using a JVC MiniDV camcorder and for post-production is using Adobe Photoshop, GarageBand, and iMovie on his Macintosh systems. Knighthood was first uploaded onto YouTube on August 6, 2008.

The Soundtrack of Knighthood
Star Wars: The Soundtrack of Knighthood is the original soundtrack of the Squishy Vic Series, for the Knighthood series, which includes the novel Star Wars: Knighthood and Knighthood: The Web Series. The first song to be released was the theme song of the Jedi Knight Narod Antrell, titled after him. Victor Dorantes, creator of the Squishy Vic Series and its projects, intends to be the only composer for the soundtrack. He will attempt to create a central theme song for each of the main characters Knighthood. He particularly wants to create a theme song for at least Si'va Morrer, a longtime rival of Narod Antrell, and Roviik Antrell, the son of the Jedi Knight.

Reception
Reception towards the Alternative Saga and the works within it has been generally positive amongst those who have read and reviewed them. In an issue of the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Fanon Newsletter, now-former Editor Darth tom called Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One “an excellent read, and a literary masterpiece in relation to here on [Star Wars Fanon]”, as well as “an excellent addition to the world of Star Wars”. Reviews on TheStarWarsRP.Com and TheForce.Net have been equally positive; on TheStarWarsRP.Com, Hunter Manuel stated that he believed the novel should be published, and on TheForce.Net users commented that they were “blown away by the spectacularity” of the novel and that it is an incredible alternate universe story. Unit 8311 stated that while he was not a fan of Star Wars rewrites, he felt that The Chosen One and other Alternative Saga novels were better reads than other alternate universe works.

Fellow fan fiction author Atarumaster88 commented that Star Wars: Knighthood “nearly blew [him] away” when he first read it, stating that he wished to see more of the novel. Atarumaster88 had previously praised elements of the novel such as dialogue, feeling that the author, Dorantes, had succeeded, in most cases, in writing realistic conversations. Joe Butler, a user on Star Wars Fanon, praised Star Wars: The Alderaan Affair author, Lipman, for his work on the novel, saying that Butler could “feel the emotion [and] the adrenaline”, even though Lipman was not “fluffing up [the] writing with cotton”. Although fellow Alternative Saga authors Rhea and Dorantes noted a certain lack of detail in some points of The Alderaan Affair, they nonetheless praised the work as well.

On November 17, 2008, the entire Alternative Saga universe became a sponsored work of the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Fanon Newsletter. With this distinction, the authors may ask for assistance from the newsletter when needed, and they have the right to submit articles involving updates to the series that will be published in the newsletter.