‘The Acolyte’ Lives On: Master Indara Returns in New Book ‘Wayseeker’

Even though The Acolyte TV series on Disney+ was canceled after just one season, the story is not over. Fans can still follow the adventure through new books and short stories.

One of these is “The Acolyte: Wayseeker,” a novel that takes place decades before the events of the show. It follows Vernestra Rwoh, a Jedi Master, as she tries to find her place again in the Jedi Order. The book was written by Justina Ireland and will be available to buy on May 6.

Collider has shared an early look at the book, showing a scene where Jedi Master Indara is sent by the Jedi Council to find Vernestra. But on her journey, Indara comes across a mysterious and powerful Jedi known as a Wayseeker.

Dispatched by the Jedi Council to find Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh and return her to Coruscant, Jedi Knight Indara encounters the legendary Wayseeker in the middle of a dangerous mission.

When I woke the next morning, I was ready for whatever the day brought me. I sent J-6 to speak to mayor Lansa as soon as I rose, asking for a meeting at the mayor’s earliest convenience. An idea had been percolating in my brain, but over my evening meal it had sprung into my mind fully formed, and now that I could see all the moving parts, I knew exactly what needed to be done.

But I could not and would not do it alone.

When I rose, I practiced my forms, moving through them slowly at first to warm up and then quicker after my muscles were feeling loose. It was a routine I did every morning. I would usually go for a run once my muscles were warm, but today I needed to meditate. Center myself. The holo from the Council—and Yaddle’s good-natured scolding therein—had unsettled me enough that I could sense I wouldn’t be at my best today without recentering my thoughts and intentions and feelings. My actions were always deliberate, and I had always prided myself on being logical, even when my emotions were involved. I knew this sometimes led to people thinking I was cold or unemotional, and that outside perspective hadn’t gotten any better as I’d gotten older.

Especially since I eschewed visiting Coruscant too often. But keeping myself grounded, centered, rational—well, it was why I’d been successful as a Jedi. The galaxy might tilt and sway with upheaval and change, but I—like the Force—was constant. An island in a raging sea.

When it came to failure or loss, I always acknowledged the emotion, let it wash over me, and grieved as I needed to. And then I put it aside, not letting it drive my actions. Some of the younger Jedi had taken that lesson to mean emotions and the connections they engendered were bad, and my heart hurt that they thought that cutting themselves off from connection was the way to be successful as a Jedi. Our connection with others gave us purpose as Jedi, but we could not let their fear become ours, and we could not let our personal worries drive our actions. That, to me, had always been the true meaning of the balance we Jedi strove toward: living without fear, loving and embracing the grief that ultimately came when such a strong connection was lost. The sweet and the bitter, forever entangled.

It was a simple lesson that was impossible to learn, and I had been trying for decades.

And for those times when the lesson was hard to remember, I bolstered my training through meditation. There was nothing like letting my body fall away and connecting to the cosmic Force to remind myself that I was nothing and everything all at once.

I did not want my worry over the Jedi High Council’s emissary or my annoyance with Cerifisis’s Council of Elders to impact my choices on that day, so a little focused meditation was in order. It wasn’t the difference between success and failure, but it was the difference between turmoil and acceptance. No matter what happened today, I would accept it as every living creature must, but being centered meant that the outcome would not weigh on me in quite the same way.

That, of course, had not always been my perspective on things. But I was older and far wiser than I had once been. Or, at least, that was what I told myself.

But I had no sooner taken up my position in the courtyard behind

My lodgings—legs crossed, eyes shut, breathing even, and the early-morning sun already punishingly hot—than I heard the door to my quarters open and close. I had expected the rhythmic clomping that signaled J-6’s return from speaking with Lansa. What I had not expected were the soft footfalls that accompanied the droid’s steps. I opened my eyes to see not just J-6 but also a Jedi Knight, a feminine human with pale skin and dark hair pulled back from her face haphazardly. She was somewhere between her late twenties and early thirties as far as I could tell—I was always uncertain when it came to human ages—but there was an air about her that made her seem younger. A confident veneer, but her movements betrayed an uncertainty, something awkward and hesitant. It was in every line of her body. She carried herself like she was unsure whether she should be or even deserved to be there, and her robes were incredibly pristine. Most Jedi had stains and fraying on their clothing, the marks of missions undertaken and completed. Her robes looked like they’d just been issued by the quartermaster, and she moved within them as though she wasn’t used to their weight.

It surprised me. I had been expecting Yaddle to send someone with the demeanor of one who would not take no for an answer, a hardy tree of a Jedi—someone like Burryaga or Porter, who had been ancient even when I was a Padawan. Someone I knew from the old days.

But instead Yaddle and the Jedi High Council had sent a sapling.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

“Master Vernestra Rwoh,” the young woman said, her voice carrying an emotion I couldn’t name. Excitement? Nervousness? Annoyance? “I am Jedi Knight Indara. And I am here to escort you back to Coruscant at the request of the Jedi Council. You must come with me.”

I smiled, a genuine, cheek-splitting expression. A bubble of laughter burbled up, and I had to clear my throat to keep it from fully escaping. Here I had been a bit worried that I would be forced to choose between my promise to the people of Cerifisis and my responsibilities to the Order. But now that concern melted away. Indara was clearly a Jedi who needed adventure, who would benefit from helping me defeat the Strafes. The poor thing was so pale I wondered if they kept her down in the labs at the Temple. When was the last time she had used her lightsaber? It wasn’t uncommon for some of the more scholarly Jedi to be incredibly rusty with their forms. Especially now that the galaxy as a whole was much more peaceful than it had been in my youth.

I almost owed the poor Jedi before me a bit of an escapade. A good story to share in her downtime at the tavern. Something that would be worth a few drinks for the telling. And if Yaddle asked why it had taken us so long to return to Coruscant, I would tell her just that.

I stood, feeling lighter than I had since getting Yaddle’s holo. “Jedi Knight Indara. Have you ever fought pirates?”

The poor women blinked, her scowl instantaneous. “Of course. I’m a Jedi Knight, not a Padawan.”

I tilted my head. Perhaps I had misread the woman. But I really didn’t think so. There was something about her that felt untried; I just had to get to the root of it. “So why do your robes look so . . . untouched?”

She glanced down at her clothing and shrugged. “Because I’m an archivist? And I like my things to be tidy?”

“Not an excuse, but definitely a reason.” I was intrigued by her. I had always liked puzzling out the unknown, and people were never the mystery they wanted to be.

I walked past Indara and J-6 into my quarters and picked up my robes from where they lay across the back of a chair. They were clean, meaning J-6 had actually laundered them without me having to ask. I turned toward the droid, who was watching the scene unfold with her arms crossed. “Jay-Six, were you able to get in touch with Lansa?”

“Yes. She’s expecting you at any moment,” the droid said.

“Feel like shooting pirates today?”

The droid groaned. Coming from a vocabulator, the sound was as disturbing as one might think, part wheeze and part low-voiced hum. “My holodrama comes on in an hour. Do you really need help?”

Indara’s dark brows folded down together in confusion at the droid’s snarky reply, and I gave J-6 my best smile. “I suppose not with Indara now here. Tender our thanks to the Lady Capaskie for her hospitality and pack my things. I’ll meet you at the ship. We’ll leave as soon as we’ve settled this problem with the pirates.”

I turned back to Indara, who stood with her arms crossed. “You let your droid do as she pleases?” she asked. It was a valid question. There weren’t many droids who could refuse a task. But there was something else to the question as well, a sort of defiance, as though she wanted to take control of the entire situation but wasn’t sure how.

That was something I could work with.

“Sometimes the easier path is just that, easier,” I said with a grin. “Let’s go, Jedi Knight Indara. Today we are going to fight some pirates. Especially since it’s long past time you got those robes dirty.”

The Acolyte: Wayseeker drops on May 6, 2025.

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