With the magical powers of the Force, the possibilities are endless for Star Wars stories and their characters. Every now and again, some abilities get lost by the wayside, but one of the best Jedi tricks is now canon once more.
Even George Lucas probably never imagined the sheer depth of what he was creating with Star Wars. The lore of the galaxy stretches far beyond any attempt to watch the Star Wars movies in order, with videogames, comic books, and novels offering further context to the best Star Wars characters.
One such character, Porter Engle, exists solely in the novels of the High Republic (for now). Turns out, he was a master of a certain Jedi ability which has made its way back into the official canon of Star Wars. Get ready to learn about battle meditation.
Battle meditation was previously only ever heard of in the Knights of the Old Republic videogame, and was confined to Legends lore upon Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars franchise. The ability allowed the Jedi to enter a trance-like state and not only maximize their own power, but also reach out to other Force-users and ensure all those connected are doing the same.
During Lucasfilm’s publishing panel at NYCC 2023, it was confirmed that battle meditation was no longer solely applicable to the realm of Star Wars PC games, but had also played a key part in a huge battle in the High Republic novel: The Rising Storm.
Porter Engle was once one of the most powerful Jedi around, but, during the seemingly peaceful era of the High Republic, he stepped down and became a modest cook. However, with the emerging threat of the Nihil (some of the best Star Wars villains you’re yet to see onscreen), Engle was dragged back into the fight, and showed just how capable he could be.
A new character biography on Engle reveals the mighty Ikkrukkian used battle meditation during a battle with the Nihil after the attack on Valo. In this moment, Engle connected with other Force-users and orchestrated a unified attack on the Nihil, with all of the Jedi ships flying in formation. Thanks to battle meditation, the Jedi won this particular fight, but the war against the Nihil would continue into the third novel of this particular Star Wars series: Fallen Star.
As it happens, the three books in this collection (Light of the Jedi, The Rising Storm, Fallen Star) are all absolutely brilliant and are a great entry point for anyone wishing to expand their Star Wars knowledge. I read them for the first time this year, and now have a burning desire to search out other Star Wars novels. My nerdy brain is very happy, but my wallet, not so much!
One question that remains however, is why we haven’t seen battle meditation used onscreen yet. One theory is that the Jedi simply forgot this ability over time – they do have a lot going on, to be fair. When discussing this with our News Editor, Anthony McGlynn, though, he made a great point, which is that this ability perhaps doesn’t translate well to the medium of film or TV, given the need to display the fact that multiple characters would be tuned in to the same frequency, as it were.
Or, maybe, it just wouldn’t be much fun to see the Jedi use an ability so powerful that they could basically win a fight in seconds. Who knows, maybe we will see battle meditation in the new Star Wars movies? If I were to place my bets, though, it would be The Acolyte release date I’d be keeping an eye on for some meditative magic, as that particular show will be set during the final days of the High Republic. Until we know more, you could also learn about the Knights of the Old Republic remake release date, or think about new movies on the way, like Avatar 3, which is sure to feature plenty of awe-inspiring sci-fi.