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Revision as of 03:24, 29 September 2013
Knights of the Old Republic: Hands of Evening is a fan fiction novel written by user Jedi Master 76. Hands of Evening was the third novel in the Days of Dissidence Series, and the seventh work written overall. The work was written over the course of 2011 and released to the Star Wars Fanon wiki in its entirety in the fall of 2011.
Hands of Evening is the third story in the Days of Dissidence Series to center around the protagonist Raen Benax, a former Sith apprentice who has allied himself with the Jedi Order and seeks to redeem himself for the actions of his past. Escaping the purge of the Jedi on Coruscant, Raen Benax and a team of Jedi Knights, led by the Councilor Northeus Ulsan, travel the galaxy searching for any surviving Jedi. During the course of their journey, supporting characters from previous stories—smuggler Ralina Venli, retired Republic soldier Jhosua Weros, and mercenary captain Lucius Velle—find themselves all fighting a common enemy in the form of the GenoHaradan and one of its Hutt allies. However, the involvement of the GenoHaradan assassins points to a larger conspiracy against the Republic and the increasing power of the Sith that paves the way for the return of a Sith Emperor whom Revan warned of.
Plot summary
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, before the revenge of the Sith, the birth of the Empire, and the return of the Jedi there was a time of galactic turmoil, political unrest, and folding allegiances. The Sith Empire increased its influence throughout the galaxy while the Galactic Republic, the bastion of order and democracy, took its dying breath. The dark side grew stronger with each passing day, and the Jedi Order was forced to confront an enemy unlike any other: itself. The Knight of Alderaan, the Paladin of Evening, and the Vindictive Guardian are the epithets of those involved in our tale. Around these three shall our story be spun, and these three shall direct the fate of those around them, for good or ill.
Enter the era of the Knights of the Old Republic. Enter the days of dissidence...
The galaxy is in turmoil. The Galactic Republic struggles to recover from its disastrous wars against the Mandalorian clans and the Sith Empire even as its infrastructure collapses around it. The vaunted Jedi Order, once a herald of stability and justice in Republic space, teeters toward destruction alongside the Republic it serves. The Sith's military collapsed with the Star Forge at the end of the Jedi Civil War, but the dark side they served continues to grow unchecked. Smugglers, mercenaries, and pirates run rampant in the fringes of Republic space. Tyrants and criminals gain political and military power through underhanded dealings. And beyond the Republic, a new danger looms that may mark the return of the Sith.
Jedi are disappearing from across the galaxy, abandoning their posts by choice or being abducted by dark warriors, never to be seen or heard of again. The Jedi Order can no longer refuse aid, accepting all Force-sensitive allies into their ranks and ignoring their past crimes. In spite of their hopes, these new warriors do little to swell their ranks. Even as the Sith launch a final attack against the Jedi's stronghold on Coruscant, Raen Benax must use his second chance at freedom to redeem himself in the eyes of the Jedi...
Story
- Section 1
- Section 2
- Section 3
- Section 4
- Section 5
- Section 6
- Section 7
- Section 8
- Section 9
- Section 10
- Section 11
- Section 12
Appearances
In order of appearance and/or mentioning.
| Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
|
Galactic Repubic
Sith Order
Jedi Order
Watchcircle Dominus
Mercium's gang
Freelancers
Other
|
Locations
Vehicles and vessels
|
Behind the scenes
Spoilers below.
Hands of Evening was the only novel in the series to be published from a first major draft. The ideas and plotlines contained within the released story were not necessarily envisioned in the initial draft, but no previous copies of Hands of Evening exist. Like many works in the Days of Dissidence Series, Hands of Evening went through several working titles, including Hands of Twilight and Hands of Eventide.
The scene which introduces the Jedi and their Jedi Temple was heavily inspired by a line from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords in which Kreia says, "[t]he Jedi Temple on Coruscant lies empty. The waters in the Room of a Thousand Fountains have fallen still." The attack itself draws parallels to the execution of Order 66 and, specifically, Operation: Knightfall, but also to the so-called Jedi pogrom from the Tales of the Jedi comics and the Padawan Massacre of Taris in the Knights of the Old Republic comics. Gaiel's sacrifice was meant to be reminiscent of Kit Fisto's ultimate fate in Revenge of the Sith—specifically, the novelization—but also the death of Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace.
Away from the Jedi they had ferried around in the last two novels, Ralina and her crew were meant to have a minor role in this work. However, Jedi Master 76 saw a way to tie in the disjointed plotline of Mercium the Hutt and his actions in Absolution to the larger narrative, and as a way for them to meet Jhosua and Verita. In early outlines, Jhosua would have stayed with the Republic and become a special forces operative, while Verita would have either returned to the Jedi Order or joined him in his missions as an adviser. In later outlines when Colonel Eto and Captain Thonnel were added to the narrative, this was seen as superfluous because Jedi Master 76 truly needed only one Republic point of view.
The entire Coruscant segment was added late in the outlining and writing stages. Ranval was initially supposed to join Northeus, Raen, and their company on their hunt for Jedi. He would have died in the final battle trying to help Raen defeat Jaeln; however, Jedi Master 76 realized that his death would have been pointless and saw much more potential moving him to Coruscant and having him survive the novel. Hinting at a devious plot involving the Republic and its leadership, it was only natural that Eto and Thonnel's actions took them to Coruscant, and the Galactic Senate sections were included to show how Eliorae responded to her newfound position and leadership roles. Although technically disjointed from the rest of the story and only interacting with the main characters through agents, the characters and their actions on Coruscant move on to play large roles in the final novel of the series.
The mercenary segments with Lucius, Dynatha, and Tserne were envisioned quite early in the series, but their purpose was not clear before finishing Absolution. In the initial outlines, the mercenary company under Lucius merely travels the galaxy, fighting minor villains and not interacting with any of the other major characters. When this was deemed underwhelming, Jedi Master 76 forced them to resolve the GenoHaradan plotline of Absolution and eventually meeting up with the other spacers to finish off Mercium the Hutt. This of course alludes to the unfinished and ultimately cut plotline of The Sith Lords, in which the remnants of the GenoHaradan attempt to kill the Jedi Exile and collect the bounty that has been placed on her head. To explain away the absence, Lucius and his company eliminate the GenoHaradan leadership and fool them into trying to collect another Jedi's bounty.
The places the Jedi visit on their quest were either nods toward The Sith Lords or meant to pay homage to obscure Star Wars lore. M4-78 and the adventures that occur there were taken almost directly from cut content in The Sith Lords, in which the Jedi Exile and her party go to the droid planet, meet Lonna Vash, and stop the Sith from disturbing the planet. Most of the characters on the planet were taken from the short story "The Most Dangerous Foe". Wilmm Lywin was meant to be seen as a wise character akin to Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi, but if they were driven to madness or made an error so great it made them incapable of teaching. The character of Castan Herox could be seen as a foil to either Northeus Ulsan or Willm Lywin, in that he neglects combat and searching for Jedi aid against the Sith in favor of helping those who are hurt because of them.
Raen Benax's death in the penultimate novel was planned since the series' inception. His death is a call-back to when the Days of Dissidence series was a Knights of the Old Republic mod. After the mod of the first game was completed, Jedi Master 76 would have created a mod for the second game, The Sith Lords, as well. In this mod, the player would recruit Raen Benax into her party and, in the same vein as the other characters in the party, his fate would have been tied into the the player's influence with him and alignment. He would leave the party before the battle of Telos IV and confront his brother on a distant planet. If the player was light-sided, he would have triumphed over his brother and declared his intention to hunt down the remaining Sith, starting with the Jedi Exile. If the player was dark-sided, Raen would have died and his brother would flee into known space to avoid the reborn Jedi Order. This was planned before the announcement of Star Wars: The Old Republic; if a Knights of the Old Republic 3 would have been released, Jedi Master 76 would have concluded the remaining Benax sibling's plotline then.
In the final battle, a major emphasis is placed on Raen Benax's affinity for fire, as was his brother's attachment to darkness. The fate of the Benax siblings, by in large, was meant to be reminiscent of the in-universe story of the Qel-Dromas, and the tale of Cain and Abel from the Biblical Book of Genesis.
The story draws heavily from Star Wars canon, particularly the Knights of the Old Republic metaseries and the original trilogy as a whole. Inspirations for character and events have been drawn from the video games Fire Emblem, Tales of Symphonia, the Halo series, the Mass Effect series, as well as the film The Lord of the Rings, and the stories the Odyssey, Dracula, and Treasure Island. The title primarily refers to the Sith and their encroaching power, both those who serve under Darth Traya and those who aid Jaeln Benax. However, it could also refer to the Watchcircle Dominus, due to their nefarious dealings, or it could refer to the smugglers, mercenaries, and operatives who work under Mercium the Hutt and aid the Sith in secret. The story's main themes are centered around the casualties during conflict between good and evil and perseverance in hardship.