Elris Florent

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Elris Florent was a female member of the Disciples of the Whills religion during the High Republic Era. In 382 BBY, Florent was the Disciples' representative on the Convocation of the Force council on the holy moon Jedha. She stood by the Yacombe religion when they sent an envoy to apply for membership onto the Convocation.

Later, Florent supported the Temple of the Kyber's protectors, the Guardians of the Whills, in their decision to arrest the thief Tey Sirrek for the temple's bombing. She also defended herself, her religion, and the Convocation to Werth Plouth, the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand cult, when he petitioned for the disbandment of the Convocation. Florent was then caught up in a riot sparked by Plouth at the beginning of the Battle of Jedha after his petition was rejected.

Biography

Convocation matters

Elris Florent^[2] was born between around 441 BBY and 432 BBY^[1] and was in her fifties^[2] in 382 BBY. That year,^[6] she was the representative for the Disciples of the Whills religion on the Convocation of the Force, a council of Force-affiliated groups that operated on^[5] the holy moon^[7] Jedha. Florent was present at the Convocation Chambers when the Yacombe organization sent an envoy to apply for membership onto the Convocation.^[5] During the application, Florent remained calm and open to hearing all sides,^[3] but the Fallanassi religion's representative, Sirené Taran, went to attack the envoy, forcing the Lonto^[5] species'^[3] representative, Susalee,^[4] to intervene and stop the violence. In response, Florent urged the Convocation's^[5] chair, Kilan T'Dara,^[4] to intervene and stop Taran. T'Dara complied, but the chair's plea for the Fallanassi to stop failed.^[5]

Florent then spoke with the Matukai religious group's representative,^[5] Waran Val,^[4] who was also antagonizing the envoy.^[5] She^[3] reminded Val that the Yacombe did not speak and only communicated through their proxies before adding that Val should have known that fact already. Val then expressed disbelief that out of all the representatives, Florent and the Disciples of the Whills would vouch for the Yacombe, to which Florent responded that she felt the Convocation should at least listen to the Yacombe's application. After^[5] Jedi Knight^[8] Oliviah Zeveron stood in to defend the Yacombe envoy, they were able to stop the attackers and finally end the potential violence. Because of the incident, the Yacombe envoy withdrew their application and left.^[5]

Later, a meeting of the Convocation discussing the bombing of the Temple of the Kyber was held with^[4] Jedi Knight^[9] Vildar Mac and^[4] Jedi Padawan Matthea Cathley.^[8] When Mac suggested that the Guardians of the Whills, the protectors of the temple, might have jumped to conclusions in arresting the thief Tey Sirrek for the crime due to Sirrek's history with the organization, Florent insisted that the Guardians,^[4] who she worked closely with,^[3] did not make assumptions and that their Captain Oklane Viss was dealing with the situation personally. Despite Cathley's continued protests, T'Dara revealed that the official story the Convocation was presenting was that a buildup of gas had caused the explosion.^[4]

The Herald of the Open Hand

When Werth Plouth, the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand, a cult that believed using the Force was wrong, petitioned the Convocation for the council's disbandment and claimed that they were all abusing the Force by using it, Florent called Plouth arrogant and insisted his claims were preposterous. In response, Plouth asked Florent if their robes were crimson to cover up the blood on their hands. Feeling insulted, Florent told Representative T'Dara that she refused to be addressed in such a manner and started to proclaim the legitimacy of the Disciples of the Whills before T'Dara cut her off and told her that they were all aware that the Disciples were one of the oldest and most respected orders on Jedha.^[4]

After Plouth stormed out of the Convocation Chambers into^[4] the Square of the Supplicants^[8] and attempted to rile up a crowd that had gathered there against the Convocation and the Jedi, Florent and T'Dara followed the Sorcerers of Tund Force group's representative Tarna Miak outside to confront Plouth. However, Plouth successfully incited a riot,^[4] which Florent was caught in,^[10] and many of the Convocation members took part in.^[8] In the riot, which evolved into the Battle of Jedha, Florent was part of a group knocked down by members of^[10] the order called the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance.^[7] Florent then became one of many attacked by Susalee, who had been psychologically affected by^[10] the Leveler, a Nameless creature utilized by the Path that preyed on Force-sensitives and caused them to hallucinate.^[8]

Personality and traits

Elris Florent was a respected and somewhat regal woman^[2] who had brown eyes, light skin,^[4] and was 1.73 meters (5 feet, 8 inches) tall. During the Yacombe's petition for membership, she was able to remain calm and was open to hearing both sides.^[3] She believed strongly in the Guardians of the Whills,^[4] who she worked closely with,^[3] and defended the organization's integrity to Vildar Mac. Florent also took pride in the Disciples of the Whills and their history and did not like when someone disrespected her as Werth Plouth did.^[4] She performed meditation to try and hear the will of the Force, because of which she and the other Disciples of the Whills believed that the dark side of the Force should not be shunned but instead held in balance with the light side.^[3]

Equipment

Florent wore crimson robes^[4] that reflected her high status,^[2] gold chains around her body, a brown belt, and a gold sun-shaped headpiece^[4] that represented the will of the Force.^[3] She also carried a gold staff.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Elris Florent was created by Cavan Scott and designed by Andrea Broccardo for the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia initiative.^[2] She first appeared in Scott's comic story "Peace and Unity," which was illustrated by Broccardo and published by Marvel Comics^[5] on October 12, 2022,^[11] in the first issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic^[5] as part of Phase II of the initiative.^[2] The character, only identified as "Elris" in the story,^[5] had her last name revealed in the fourth issue of the series,^[4] which was released on January 11, 2023.^[12]

Scott's original brief and artist notes for the character called for Florent to resemble an Indian woman and for her robes to look like a more tailored version of the Disciples of the Whills' red robes from^[2] the 2016^[13] film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In the brief, Scott called Florent the leader of the Convocation,^[2] but Kilan T'Dara was established as its leader in "Peace and Unity" instead.^[5]

Appearances

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• "Peace and Unity" — The High Republic (2022) 1 (First appearance)
• The High Republic (2022) 4 (First identified as Florent)
• The High Republic (2022) 5
• The High Republic: Path of Vengeance (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)

Sources

• Star Wars: The High Republic Show: High Republic Phase II Deep Dive, Star Wars Celebration, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: The High Republic: The Lightsaber Collection (Indirect mention only)
• The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic: Volume II

Notes and references