Zao

"I am but a leaf blown by the winds of the Force. I trust my purpose in being anywhere will eventually be revealed to me."

- Zao

Zao was a blind, elderly male Veknoid Jedi Master, and an accomplished chef, who served the Jedi Order during the final years of the Galactic Republic. He did not accept missions from the Jedi High Council, but followed the will of the Force as he traveled about the galaxy. Those who ate Zao's cooking often found that its taste, whether good or bad, reflected the degree to which their current mental state was in harmony with the Force. In spite of his blindness, he remained a formidable and lethal adversary, wielding his unique lightsaber cane with frightening accuracy.

A wandering Jedi
"The war is already won or lost as the Force wills. We are all leaves blown by its wind."

- Zao

A Force-sensitive Veknoid, Zao was educated in the ways of the Force by the Jedi Order, attaining the rank of Jedi Master, by which time he was blind. By the time the dark side of the Force began to grow more potent, Master Zao no longer took on formal missions for the Jedi High Council. Instead, the Veknoid Jedi traveled as he believed the Force directed him, moving from one world to another as the currents of the Force flowed. At some point, Zao constructed a blue-bladed lightsaber cane, using it as a walking stick, weapon, and cooking instrument.

In 30 BBY, Zao was serving as a chef to the Aqualish crime lord Gorto Zaga on Kiffex. Through his cooking, Zao attempted to teach his philosophy to those who consumed it: whether the food tasted bad or good was determined by the balance within the consumer. Those who were not in balance with the Force would find the food foul or bitter; those with good balance would enjoy the meal. As Zaga was an immoral criminal, he found Zao's cooking to be unpleasant.

Departing the crime lord's company, Zao stumbled upon Jedi Knight, Quinlan Vos, who was in search for his missing Padawan, Aayla Secura. Believing the Force had brought them together for this very purpose, Zao aided Vos and Master Tholme in fighting off Zaga's guards. Soon however, the planet's feral population of Anzati stormed the Black Hole cantina. Discovering that Secura was leading the feral Anzati, Vos and Tholme set out to free her from the thrall of the dark side of the Force; Zao took his leave of the other Jedi and departed the world.

Clone Wars
When the Clone Wars erupted a decade later between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Zao invoked the Right of Denial and did not take up his lightsaber in the fight; the Veknoid believed the war was in direct violation of the will of the Force. Instead, Zao continued wandering between the stars; the High Council so seldom heard from Zao that many believed him dead. By the last year of the war, Zao had set up a food-selling hovel on the streets of Saleucami's capital city.

During his stay on Saleucami, Master Tholme came across the aging Veknoid's food stand and took a meal with his old colleague. Investigating rumors that Dark Jedi Sora Bulq was amassing a large army of cloned Morgukai warriors, Tholme asked for Zao's assistance. Despite Zao believing that the Order was misguided in serving a corrupt Republic, the old Master agreed to point Tholme in the hidden entrance to Bulq's underground cloning facilities.

Great Jedi Purge
Several weeks after his encounter with Tholme, the Republic and the Jedi Order were destroyed by the machinations of the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, who was in fact the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Despite the lingering presence of members of the Grand Army of the Republic on Saleucami and their new standing orders to execute all members of the Jedi, Zao was able to avoid detection. Dressed as a beggar, Zao's anonymity ensured his safety during this time.

Having survived the early stages of the Great Jedi Purge, Zao eluded detection until his meeting in a refugee camp on Arkinnea with Jedi Master K'Kruhk, a Padawan named Chase Piru and nine younglings under the Whiphid's protection. After briefly mentoring the younglings, Zao confided in K'Kruhk that he senses great danger in the camp and suggests they leave immediately. The Jedi then escaped the encampment. K'Kruhk then stole a wagon while Zao led the younglings to gather food from the farmlands. But as they made their way into the mountains, they discover that the militia had massacred the refugees and dumped their bodies there.

Powers and abilities
Zao was a powerful yet mysterious Jedi who relied on the Force to control almost all natures of his life due to his blindness. He was skilled with his lightsaber staff, despite his blindness. He also created a soup, that according to him, was completely in harmony with the Force - those who tasted it experienced different flavors depending on their own balance within the Force. Tholme and T'ra Saa, for example, thought it was delicious, while Quinlan Vos tasted nothing, and Vilmarh Grahrk found it disgusting.

Behind the scenes
Zao's name was adapted from "Tao"&mdash;the name of the oriental philosophical system. The way of Tao is very similar to Zao's beliefs.

Zao was originally going to die in Darkness, but according to artist Jan Duursema, "Zao would have been toast in Darkness, but we were asked not to kill him."

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Republic 33: Darkness, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Republic 34: Darkness, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Republic 35: Darkness, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Republic: Rite of Passage
 * Star Wars: Republic 69: The Dreadnaughts of Rendili, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Republic: Trackdown
 * Star Wars: Republic 75: The Siege of Saleucami, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Republic 79: Into the Unknown, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Dark Times 23: Fire Carrier, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Dark Times 25: Fire Carrier, Part 3