Tempest Runner: Lourna Dee’s story has been building for months, says Justina Ireland

The High Republic didn’t just launch a new era of Star Wars storytelling when it kicked off with two new books in January 2021. It also showcased the true strength of collaborative storytelling, especially in the initiative’s second wave with Out of the Shadows and the upcoming Tempest Runner.

With five authors all telling the same larger story in much smaller installments, the group (Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Cavan Scott, Daniel José Older, and Charles Soule) have had to communicate regularly to make sure The High Republic tells a cohesive story not just as a whole, but with each individual character that appears throughout.

In a recent interview with StarWars.com, Ireland discussed everything from the politics nestled within her latest High Republic contribution to the future of fan-favorite characters such as Vern, and even rising villains like Lourna Dee.

With the latter’s story soon becoming the main focus of a new Star Wars audio drama, it’s been important for the authors (“architects”) of The High Republic to develop Lourna’s story throughout multiple books, including The Rising Storm and Out of the Shadows. According to Ireland, Cavan Scott was a vital resource when continuing Lourna’s character arc in her latest book.

“We talked about the storytelling [in Tempest Runner] — and even when I was writing Out of the Shadows, we were talking back and forth about Lourna Dee and what was going on in The Rising Storm,” she said. “Who does Lourna know? What are her connections? Who is she? I know who she is because Cav and I talked about it, but this is kind of the beginning of, ‘What is Lourna Dee about?’”

The Luminous Five seem to be setting up Lourna as Marchion Ro’s up-close-and-personal antagonist. She wants what he seems to be going after. But she’s a better planner. And she also might know his greatest weaknesses.

Based on the audio sample from a new excerpt just released on Gizmodo, it’s hard to argue that Tempest Runner might be one of the darkest of the audio dramas we’ve gotten in the past few years. Scott’s work in The High Republic recently, however, means it really doesn’t come as a surprise… anymore.

Out of the Shadows is available now wherever books are sold, and Tempest Runner releases on Aug. 31, 2021.