We all watched and loved "The Duel" last month with the release of Star Wars Visions, and now we have the recently released Ronin novel that expands on that story. The book gives a lot more detail to the intriguing world of "The Duel" and we learn more about this version of the galaxy and its characters. You can read my review of Ronin too, but here's just a few facts you didn't know if you haven't read the book yet.
1. The Ronin's lightsaber doesn't shut off because of a broken part
Though the Ronin's mechanical abilities, especially when it comes to lightsabers, are pretty strong, his saber is broken and that's why it doesn't shut off and he carries it in a scabbard made from the parts of broken lightsabers. He doesn't keep it broken because he can't fix it- another character later fixes it pretty easily, but rather just because he simply doesn't bother.
2. The Bandit Leader's name is Kouru
If you're anything like me, you were captivated with the white-haired Sith who fought the Ronin in "The Duel." While we previously only knew her as the "Bandit Leader," with the release of Ronin we get to read from her perspective and now know that her name is Kouru. And that she's even more awesome than we thought.
3. The Ronin was the leader of the Sith who turned against them
Probably the most interesting part of the novel was learning more details about the alternate, feudal Japan-inspired history of Star Wars in this galaxy. In this version, The Ronin led a Sith rebellion against the Jedi as the dark lord of the Sith, but ultimately turned against the Sith when he realized the bloodshed that comes with such warfare, and turned to hunting down his former followers and collecting their kyber crystals.
4. The prosthetic on the Ronin's jaw is because of an injury from a blaster
While we don't get a whole long story about the incident in specific, we know that while the Ronin was hunting one Sith, they shot him with a blaster, leading to his need for the prosthetic on his jaw after it was badly wounded. He took the blaster from said Sith after killing them, and keeps it properly maintained for an emergency.
5. The Ronin has a daughter with a Sith witch
Finally, and probably among the biggest reveals in the book, is that the Ronin has a daughter. During the Sith rebellion, the other leader was a Sith witch who the Ronin loved. Unbeknownst to him, she had their child after his betrayal.